Simon was fishing. There was nothing unusual about that, Simon went fishing all the time. In fact, he was a commercial fisherman and he prided himself on being one of the best. But this particular fishing trip was different. Simon was not trying to catch a lot of fish. He was trying to catch one fish. He wasn’t even exactly sure what the fish looked like, but he knew it was out there. This fish was unique – different from all the others – and as he scanned the water of the lake, he just knew it was about to bite. As he sat and waited for this special fish, Simon thought back on the events of the morning.
It was tax time. Simon, like the rest of us, liked complaining about taxes. But on this particular day, Simon wasn’t just annoyed, he was angry. The tribute tax isn’t just a nuisance, he thought, it’s unjust.
Earlier that day, the tax people had stopped Simon and asked if his teacher paid the tribute. He had answered that he did, but he wished now that he had said more.
As Simon stepped into the small house where he and his fellow students lived, a question nagged at the back of his mind. Are these taxes fair? Should I really be paying the money that is asked of me?
Before the question could take proper form, however, Simon’s teacher stopped him. He asked Simon, “What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?” (Matthew 17:25) The question jarred Simon a little. He still wasn’t used to the way that Jesus could hear his thoughts as if they were spoken words, but he answered his teacher, “Of strangers.” They were talking about the tax, but Simon wasn’t sure where Jesus was going with this.
Jesus responded, “Then are the children free.” Simon’s heart leapt. His gut feeling had been right. The tribute tax WAS unfair. It WASN’T right that the government should ask this money of rightful citizens of Israel! Simon Peter’s mind raced. The time for the protest has begun! Jesus and I and the other disciples are going to begin a tribute boycott. But as these thoughts crowded into Peter’s mind, Jesus continued to speak.
“Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.” (Matthew 17:27)
Simon obeyed, gathering fishing supplies to go catch one fish in the Sea of Galilee. As he fished, he mulled over Jesus’ words. They had not been what he expected to hear. He had expected a call to arms, a protest speech or, at the very least, a quiet boycott of the tribute tax. But after Jesus had clearly stated that he found the tribute unfair, he had expressed His willingness to comply.
Jesus thought the government had no right to require the tribute from Jewish citizens, but He paid it anyway. Simon wiped slime off the tribute coin he had plucked from the fish’s mouth and held it up. He watch it glint in the sun and wondered at Jesus’ response.
In Matthew 22, a group made up of Pharisees and Herodians approaches Jesus in an attempt to discredit Him. Deceptive flattery drips from their mouths as they address Jesus:
“Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:16-17)
Seeing through their flattery and feigned innocence, Jesus calls them hypocrites. Then, He asks them to give Him a coin of the sort used to pay the tribute. Someone hands over a silver denarius and Jesus turns it over in his hand. He holds up the coin for all to see. Like our modern coinage, Roman coins sported images and embossed lettering. But the gathered crowd that day does not see the head of Abraham Lincoln or the words “In God We Trust”. Instead, they likely see the profile of the current Roman emperor Tiberius and the inscription “TIBERIVS CAESAR DIVI AVGVSTI FILIVS AVGVSTS” or “Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus”.
As they all gaze at what, for them, was a familiar coin, Jesus asks, “Whose is this image and superscription?” It’s a simple question that a child could have answered. The Pharisees answer guardedly, “Caesar’s”. Jesus’ response is brilliant.
“Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21)
There is a moment of silence as the words sink in. The gathered crowd looks at Jesus and looks at each other and then slowly disperses, speechless before the wisdom of Jesus. He had managed neither to condemn nor condone the tribute tax.
Later, when Jesus was crucified, he was accused of “…perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar…” (Luke 23:2) This accusation was, of course, foolish and false, but it shows us that word had gotten out about Jesus’ position on the tribute tax. Some people knew that He considered it unfair. Surely, Jesus could have chosen this controversial bit of Roman policy as a rallying cry for His followers. Jesus could have run an “anti-tribute” campaign. Jesus Christ could have gone down in history as a political activist, resisting the Roman establishment.
But He didn’t. He refused to let a political position define Him.
What did Jesus do when the rules weren’t fair? He still followed the rules. Jesus was willing to express a disparaging opinion, but He did not fixate on the societal ills of His day. Instead, He focused on what mattered most – the souls of men. He was more interested in teaching His followers how to respond to injustice than in eliminating injustice from the world. That fact does not fit with many popular caricatures of Jesus and it flew in the face of what many expected from this revolutionary teacher from Galilee. But though Jesus’ perspective remained a mystery to many, Simon got it.
Roughly 30 years after catching that one special fish and plucking a coin from its mouth, Simon Peter wrote a letter to the followers of Christ, now scattered around the northeast Mediterranean. In his letter, Simon challenged his fellow disciples to…
“Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.” (1 Peter 2:13-14)
Simon, like his teacher Jesus, considered that if he were inconvenienced or mistreated because of government regulations, so be it.
From time to time being a faithful follower of God means standing up for the truth of God in the face of opposition. It was Simon Peter who, in Acts 5 boldly declared “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)But both Simon Peter and Jesus Christ recognized that Christians are not here on earth to be activists. We are here to be ambassadors. Sometimes, earthly governments do dumb things and make us follow silly rules. But that’s ok, because our true King is Jesus and His kingdom is not of this world.
Give Caesar his little silver coin but give Jesus your all.
Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/finds/2211828715/
Exempla 